Summer 2010: bees like blackberries or trees a-fallin'?

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This photo taken by my daughter Maya so far sums up Summer 2010 in Georgia in one photo. The pic was taken in early July near Atlanta, GA and I stand by the observation I made when I published it to Gather that one of them bares a stricking resemblance to a blackberry!

Can you see it?

Well, there may be one exception to summing up summer with blackberry bees: a storm last Sunday evening brought a tree down on my house so it's been a week of contractors, roofers, insurance adjusters, electricians, the power company, and the dumpster-bringer.

Yes, roof shingles have flown in a mad flurry this week and I've met quite a slew of new folks who all have been courteous and professional.

And though I was previously unfamiliar with Old South Traditions, an Athens-based construction, renovation, and storm damage repair business, this week has left me very impressed with their work and service. Check out their site if you wish!

It is a flash site so give it a few moments to load fully for a touch of Athens, GA, my hometown!

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Now appearing: Cosmic Lilith Art Calendar 2011!

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Design a personalized gift at Zazzle.


Having just updated my Zazzle Panel of artful stuff, I'm posting it here experimentally to see if I prefer its newer style to the previous one.

Then click for a browse in my Art Shop, if you wish, and you'll view my latest offering published this very day: a Cosmic Lilith Art Calendar 2011 displaying 12 pencil portaits of glamorous ladies, one for each month of the year - for ages 17+, btw.

(If you don't immediately see Cosmic Lilith Art Calendar 2011, simply click on the Folder or sidebar link that says, Art Calendars. Plus, Lilith and friends will begin cycling through the images in the above zPanel at some point in time.)

The archetype of Lilith in Astrology and Mythology can display many faces but my all-time fave has to be her glam persona. And you know that Lilith's cosmic calendar makes a great gift, too.

Plus, January 1, 2011 will be upon us before we know it, so you may wish to be artfully pre-prepared on Day One.

But for now, your glamorous Lilith ladies await!

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Shadow of a four-year-old photographer!

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This photo of a large Hydrangea bush was taken by a four-year-old photographer and I think her shadow personalizes it, don't you? ;p

Well, turns out, there is a website that's all about Hydrangeas and includes growing info and tips on using them for weddings, too.

My own love of the showy blue, pink, and purple flowers began in childhood with the two bushes my Dad grew in a side garden (near the banana tree! A banana tree in steamy Georgia? Of course!) They work well as dried flowers, too (the blooms, not the bananas.)

Yes, my Dad's Hydrangeas were quite the traffic-stoppers each year, not to mention great conversation pieces amongst the neighbors, so do check them out for your own garden if you've never grown them - the payback for your efforts brings floral heaven to any yard...

Four-year-old photographer not necessarily included!

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Which Necktie for a Brown Suit? Roam the Jungle!

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Have you ever cast about for an unusual necktie to wear with, of all things, a brown suit?

Both brown and indigo hued suits are now the updated look for gentlemen of all ages but unless you prefer wearing an 'establishment tie' every place you roam, may I suggest a Necktie adorned with one of my drawings called Predator at Dusk which to me makes a pretty good artsy necktie with a Wild Animal theme.

While there may also wish to check out a new category: Jude's Artsy Neckties for more artsy necktie ideas.

Click Predator at Dusk for a complimentary view - no strings attached, promise...just a fashionable tiger in a leafy jungle awaiting your approach.

Come roam the jungle!

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And while I'm at it, here's my current Zazzle Panel of stuff (it will update in a minute) with a variety of Jude Cowell Art designs splashed onto this item and that...some things for your wall, a few for your desk, and for your tootsies some fancy coverings of the Keds persuasion!


make custom gifts at Zazzle

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Is May Day but a Protest Day?

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May Day is also known as International Workers Day and because of global economic meltdown caused by sorry governing and the banking class' greed for power, protests are occurring around the globe for May 1, 2010.

Russia has been seeing some point-blank placards for May Day 2010 such as, Putin is Stalin! among other issues, in part for what they term Putin's 'blind' economic policies.

Why, Vladimir is simply following the protocols of the New World Order which is precisely why today I am siding with workers the globe over and wishing them safety and relief from totalitarian governments the officials of which have allowed themselves to be tempted, suckered, or blackmailed into the one-world-government agenda of the likes of Weishaupt, Palmerston, Mazzini, Pike, and the current-day crop of satan and lucifer worshipers who want total control of you and me - and fomenting chaos is their typical method: break down society in order to build it back as you high-handedly envision.

This May Day, things are very heated and furious in Greece especially over their government's "austerity cuts" (which is what US politicians would call their long-hoped-for "entitlements cuts" here if they thought they could be more honest in public without having Washington stormed like the Bastille.)

Why, even a US Congressman was arrested today at an immigration rally in front of the White House!

Yet be it all as it may, there is a severe thunderstorm about to break here in northeast Georgia yet I cannot resist posting a recent photo taken (as usual) by my photographing daughter, Maya...so if you are located where you have the option, please enjoy a daisy bouquet for May Day 2010, everyone!

Brazen Self-Promotion, at your service! Art included...

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make custom gifts at Zazzle

Hmm...my Jude Cowell Art Products are not yet showing up in this, my Zazzle Art Shop's SlideShow Panel, posted just for you! Plus, there's no tellin' which of my products will be on display by the time you mosey here to pause along the trail and steal a peep...hope you view something from my Art Shop since this particualr Zazzle Panel's code is meant to magically display my stuff!

Mental note: this may take a while so check back later to see What's Showing...

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Note: If you're mature and sophisticated, you might just enjoy a browse of some new 'fanciful figure studies' in the gallery @ Cosmic Persona Designs where you'll discover Boudoir Blossoms character portraits and other drawings in the Cosmo-Erotic, Chiffonery Art, and Cosmic archetypal and mythical realms, for the illustrations 'happen' whenever I think of drawing something sedate for those of an adult persuasion.

For Children's Art my portfolio includes: Fairy, Moon, Cosmic, and even Botanical Art (both flowery and fishy) and much of it resides primarily in two spots on the Web:

Secret Moon Art and

Dreamyfish Art...so perhaps I'll see you there or there, hmm?

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Two Fairies on a Moonlit Night

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Look closely and don't blink! This drawing is very blue, isn't it? Titled Two Fairies on a Moonlit Night, it was perpetrated on behalf of a certain Sabian Symbol for '7 Cancer' = "Two Fairies on a Moonlit Night"...

ASCENDANCY:

positive expression: a transforming sensitivity or a healing imagination;

negative/unconscious/shadow side: a senseless retreat to make-believe.

Well, often using make-believe in childhood is healing, isn't it? It can help kids 'deal' with things and it's great for inspiring more pleasant dream images just before children fall asleep. But don't be envious, for I doubt that fairies are overly prejudiced against grown-ups using make-believe from time to time...

Source: The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones.

April 2, 2010: YOD patterns for desperate situations

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Whew! I just got my socks knocked off by reading Julie Demboski's God's To-Do List column now posted for April 2, 2010.

You see, chart-studying and blogging time in the last 2 weeks has been brief around here, yet I had wanted to delve more deeply into the current (yet waning) transiting YOD pattern (Finger of God: 2 or more planets sextile at the base and inconjunct or pointing to an apex planets/s; in this case the apex planet is Saturn, now re-crossing US natal MC in the Sibly chart - MC 00Lib53; Saturn is the planet of government, law, and business...this 'personalizes' the YOD for the US and makes it angular - able to manifest in the outer world, 10th cusp.)

As you know, YODs indicate a special task or purpose, a crisis, and/or a critical situation where square pegs must fit into round holes. They may have a 'genius' flavor to them as well for they facilitate the 'thinking outside the box' that can make the unwieldy peg fit.

Astrologer Erin Sullivan was the first person to alert me to the meaning and importance of YODs when she told of her realization that they symbolize the silver book marker of the Torah - a 'finger' showing where the next reading should be taken up. Thus the pattern's sacred and karmic flavor.

Often a harbinger of unfinished 'family myths' (for descendants to 'take up' in their lifetimes and complete, another good reason to know about one's natal chart!), and possibly pointing to health threats in a chart, we might expect mundane charts to show a desperate situation or two where YODs exist. Perhaps its 'special task or purpose' is more emphasized in national charts - and we definitely have a plethora of desperate situations to wrestle with.

Now you may be tempted to think, how bad can this YOD be when the base is a lovely sextile between Mercury and Neptune? Well, besides the general descriptions of Mercury/Neptune as 'deceit in communications' or 'messages/thoughts that inspire', etc, we may look to Michael Munkasey for political and business implications of Mercury/Neptune...

Leaders who can communicate their visions of growth and progress; a legislature that controls the excesses and dreams of its leaders; an enterprise that debates about its future; weak or artificial plans that must be rethought or redesigned; a leader who mesmerizes people with delusions of progress or growth (yowch! the president resembles that remark but so do other politicians - jc); an inability to bring reality into planning and productivity.

And what does Noel Tyl say about the midpoint picture formed by the apex-Saturn YOD which is now, thankfully, passing?

Mercury/Neptune = Saturn: a gloomy reaction to real or imagined circumstances; looking at the downside of things which may or may not be valid.

Now when you read Julie's column for April 2 you'll notice her mention of today's Moon reaching 00Sag. And when Luna enters Sagittarius, she will form for a while today the base of a YOD with Saturn and pointing to an apex Mercury 00Tau+ - two interlaced YODs to thicken the plot!

The combo of Moon/Saturn = an exercise of power by the common people; institutions that oversee and coordinate commerce, agriculture, or business conditions; statistics on production efficiency; an inability of an enterprise to grasp the intentions or needs of the people; lack of output or production from manufacturing and agricultural sectors of the economy; practical vs theoretical economics.

(As always with mdpt pics, any, all, or none may apply.)

And the picture:

Moon/Saturn = Mercury: promotion of ideas on how to offer better financial or material protections; education that teaches practical business approaches or routines; prudence; maturity; a sense of duty. (Ebertin; Tyl; Munkasey.)

Well, I just finished keeping half an ear on what President Obama was saying in North Carolina (C-SPAN Live) and the above pictures and YODs came to mind. But as far as your personal life goes, please check out Julie's article for her clear insights and suggestions because with Julie, I promise you won't be disappointed!


Image: Mask of the Cosmos, a visonary drawing by Jude Cowell.

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